DPRK offers to send 230-member cheering squad to S.Korea-hosted Winter Olympics

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has offered to South Korea sending a 230-member cheering squad to the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics during the ongoing working-level talks in the truce village of Panmunjom, Seoul's unification ministry said Wednesday.

The vice ministerial-level dialogue to discuss the DPRK's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were slated to run from February to March in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang, kicked off from 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) at the Peace House in the South Korean side of Panmunjom.

During the dialogue, the DPRK side proposed dispatching its cheering squad of 230 members to the South Korea-hosted winter sports event. The DPRK already offered to send a 140-member orchestra during the Olympic period for concerts in South Korea's capital Seoul and Ganeneung near the PyeongChang county.

The DPRK proposed using the land route in the west region to let its athletes, cheering squad and other delegations cross the inter-Korean border to South Korea for the Winter Olympics participation.

Meanwhile, the two sides exchanged opinions about whether the athletes from the two Koreas can march together during an opening ceremony and field a joint women's ice hockey team as well as other issues, including the DPRK's participation in the Paralympic Games and joint cultural events between the two sides during the Olympic period.

The two sides also exchanged views over whether the joint cultural events can be held in the DPRK's scenic resort of Mount Kumgang and whether the DPRK's Masik Pass ski resort can be used, according to the Seoul ministry. Enditem